Scientists should seek to correct public “misunderstandings” that have encouraged a sympathetic view of the motives behind the attacks, he said. Blakemore said it was not enough to condemn the bombers. Meanwhile, Colin Blakemore, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford who has done research on animals, said he had been the target of a “hate mail” campaign. The Research Defense Society, which has posted a $16,000 reward for information about the bombing, hopes to convince the public that the use of animals in research is necessary and humane. The veterinarian was in a state of shock but otherwise unhurt. The British police, noting that the explosives were fairly sophisticated, said they feared that the bombing incident signaled the beginning of a sustained campaign of violence by animal-rights activists.Ī group calling itself the Animal Liberation Front reportedly claimed responsibility for another incident last week in which a bomb attached to a car belonging to a government veterinarian also exploded. Headley’s research has involved anesthetics like those that could well have been used in treating the injured boy. Some of these actions take the form of liberating live animals from fur companies, mink farms, slaughterhouses and animal research centers. Animal Liberation Front (ALF) Members of ALF are known for conducting illegal activities against industries that profit from animal exploitation. Although he escaped injury, the child - in a nearby carriage - was sprayed with shrapnel. Arguments Against Animal Liberation Front. The bomb had been attached to the car of Max Headley, a psychology professor at the University of Bristol. London, England - A car bomb believed to have been set by animal-rights activists severely injured a 13-month-old boy last week and prompted the revival of the Research Defense Society, an 82-year-old advocacy group for scientists involved in experiments with animals.